Moreland is to build a massive new development north
of Umhlanga, it was revealed last night.

"It will be big; very big. It will blow your mind," Neels
Brink, director of resorts for Moreland Development, said in an interview.

The development, on about 1 000ha either side of the N2 near Afrisun's
new Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom in Umdloti, will be called
the Sibaya node.

There will be "hotels, commercial, retail, residential, a business
park..." said Brink, who added that the new "initiative"
would be developed over the next 10 years.

Work would begin next year.

The new node would be a link between Umhlanga, Durban and the proposed
Dube Tradeport.

Brink said that Mike Mabuyakhulu, the former KwaZulu-Natal minister
of finance and economic affairs, and now minister of local government,
housing and traditional affairs had said recently that construction
of the long-awaited Dube Tradeport and King Shaka International Airport
at nearby La Mercy would begin in January, 2006.

"We are launching this initiative and supporting the government,"
Brink said, adding that further details of the "huge" project
would be revealed in due course.

Brink was speaking at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony marking
the completion of Moreland's "mammoth" R40-million "empowerment"
road that will give the public access to the region's newest tourism
development: the R727-million Sibaya Casino that will open on December
2.

The road - the N2 interchange (access from the Durban side is at
Exit 188) with a link on to the M4 - will open to the public on the
same day.

While the interchange was initially developed to allow access to
Sibaya, it would also allow further expansion and development of Moreland
property east and west of the N2, Brink said at the opening.

"This road will be part of the key to the new development. Other
infrastructure will follow," he said.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Daily News
on November 16, 2004